Wednesday, 30 September 2009

Hardbacks

What with all the talk of libraries and classification lately, here's an apposite poem from John Terry.


Hardbacks


The books you’ve requested

are certainly here – but since

our Index altered itself


the stock moves at random.

Whole shelves of books

will vanish, then reappear


in a different section. You

have entered an area

where high Index numbers


frequently auto-accelerate

beyond their Critical Library

Mark. You can expect Flutter,


Disordered Page Syndrome

and complete Control Reversal.

Our librarians are fully trained


in runaway system management,

but Health and Safety insist

that borrowers must wear


protective dust-jackets at all times.

Some of our more rugged volumes

will not hesitate to read you like a book.

8 comments:

  1. I now imagine Dom going to work in a hard hat and protective clothing with all of those books flying around the library.

    She wrote a lovely essay for an exam once on books waiting in the shop looking out for their future owners.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good to see he has another career to fall back on when he finally hangs up his boots at Chelsea and England ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Always thought of him as quite a Hard (Centre) Back actually, too...

    (Stop me someone...)

    ReplyDelete
  4. What is this Stop Me Josephine? I am not of feet ball but am once of a bi-cycle races. There were we ruled: one who passes first the win-post dominates. Feet ball - cricktet also - are of rules encrusted: Outside, offside, backside are of limitation only. Who enjoys play with much rule? Perhaps only him who from me has stolen name. Do not to me speak of this one, confusion is all which we share.

    ReplyDelete
  5. er...exactly, Anonymous...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sorry Josephine, I should have been John Terry not Anonymous (who writes all the best poems)but I went and pressed the wrong bleedin' button. Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn't.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh God...now I'm feeling stalked! ;-) Dru, help. What's happening on your blog?!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lord knows, Jo! Just enjoy the ride. Watching out for people carriers of course...

    ReplyDelete